 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc |
The visits are being made at the invitations of President of the European Council Donald Tusk, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, and Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
Promoting bilateral cooperation
The 12th Asia-Europe Meeting has the theme “Asia and Europe: global partners for global challenges”.
Since it joined the ASEM in 1996, Vietnam has been a dynamic and responsible member and has made contributions to ASEM’s development. Vietnam advocated the expansion of ASEM at the 5th ASEM meeting in 2004 and the 9th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in 2009. It worked with other ASEM members to adopt documents on ASEM cooperation including the Hanoi Declaration on Closer ASEM Economic Partnership, the ASEM Declaration on Dialogues among Cultures and Civilizations, and Recommendations on Reforming ASEM operation.
Vietnam has proposed 24 initiatives and sponsored 27 others on culture, healthcare, transportation, energy security, green growth, social security, inclusive growth, and digital economy. Vietnam was one of the first ASEM countries to promote the “ASEM Water Resources Management and Sustainable Development” mechanism that focuses on promoting cooperation between the Mekong and Danube regions.
The Partnering for Green Growth and Global Goals 2030 Summit (P4G) in Copenhagen will work out a vision, major orientations, measures, and specific actions to promote green growth and sustainable development globally.
Promoting bilateral cooperation
Prime Minister Phuc will also pay official visits to Austria, Belgium, Denmark and a working visit to the EU.
Vietnam and Austria have developed ties in various fields. Last year, their two-way trade reached 4 billion USD, 42% higher than the previous year. Austria is Vietnam’s 6th largest European importer.
Over the past 45 years, Vietnam and Belgium have promoted cooperation in various fields and at various levels.
Vietnam and Denmark will celebrate the 5th anniversary of bilateral comprehensive partnership this year. The two have worked closely at multilateral forums including the UN, ASEM, and ASEAN-EU. Denmark has been Vietnam’s biggest sponsor in climate change response since an agreement on climate change response cooperation was signed in 2008.
The Vietnam-EU relationship is developing rapidly. Last year, the EU was Vietnam’s 3rd largest partner after China and the US and Vietnam’s 2nd biggest importer after the US. Two-way trade totaled more than 50 billion USD last year, nearly 12% more than the previous year. The EU is one of Vietnam’s biggest non-refundable aid providers.
Prime Minister Phuc’s working trip to the EU is expected to boost Vietnam’s bilateral ties with EU countries and conveys the message of Vietnam’s greater integration into the international community, enhancement of multilateral diplomacy, contributions to building and shaping multilateral institutions and effective participation in global challenges within multilateral organizations.